Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] home rewiring: the next to final chapter?

[Dave Lloyd <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

You should be able to leave out as long of a tail as you want.  The drywall 
guys will probably just stuff it into the box then use their rotary cutout
tool to cut around the box and get the drywall to fit in.  However, anything
longer than 2.5 feet is probably overkill and may end up getting in the
way some.  

The phone company should replace the box at the demarc for free if you ask
for it, same as running a new drop into your house.  I had a very, very 
ancient piece of equipment in my vintage 1909 residence, probably something
from the Coolidge administration.  It was a ceramic square with two copper
bars on the side and a fuse in the middle.  Anyway, the phone company ran 
a new drop from the pole and installed a new box at the demarc for me 
when I had new service installed.  It's their equipment and if it may cause
problems for them in the future, they should replace it for free.

Punchdown tools aren't that exepensive, maybe $15 or so.  The low bid ones
over in the wiring section at Home Depot are acceptable.  You'll probably
need one for the cat 5 jacks, anyway.  Patch panels are, likewise, rather
inexpensive: http://www.pcwebshopper.com/min12porpatp.html

That one even includes the wall bracket.  You could probably get away with
some double or triple gang surface mount boxes, but I really think that
getting a patch panel is the "right" way to do it, and the cost ends up 
being about the same once you factor in 12 cat 5 jacks, two boxes, etc.
Use drywall anchors for the patch panel, or anchor a sheet of plywood to
the studs with some 2.5" drywall or deck screws and screw everything to that.
BTW, you can use RJ45 jacks for both phone and data, just so you know.  
Simply wire the middle two wires for phone service and wire like cat 5 for
data.  You probably don't want to use the cables for both at the same time,
even though they use different pairs of wires.

If you do a search for "keystone" on pricewatch, you can find jacks that will
fit into the Leviton quickport faceplates.  I used the belkin ones in my 
installation and they seem to have held up well.  A cursory search shows
that you can find 'em for as low as $2.00 if you aren't picky about which
color they are.

Happy hacking,

Dave Lloyd



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